The "What Happens in a Small Town" music video opens with two cars — the "little white Jeep" and the "hand-me-down Ford" Gilbert and Ell sing about — pulling up to a red light on a small-town street at nighttime. As the song progresses, we learn that a relationship has gone south — and that former couple is now facing each other down from opposite sides of the stoplight.

Interspersed with clips of these ex-lovers are shots of Gilbert and Ell. In darkened hallways and in the middle of that fateful stoplight meeting, they're singing and shredding. Ell's masterful guitarwork, in particular, highlights a few shots, including one at the 50-yard line of the high school football field.

How Lindsay Ell Ended Up on Brantley Gilbert's "What Happens in a Small Town"

Gilbert co-wrote "What Happens in a Small Town" with Brock Berryhill, Josh Dunne and Rhett Akins, after Big Machine Label Group President Scott Borchetta asked for one more song — a strong single — for Gilbert's next album. It's about Gilbert's now-wife, Amber; the couple was famously on-again, off-again for years, and many of Gilbert's most well-known songs are about her.

"What Happens in a Small Town" became a duet as Gilbert and company were writing the song. "We got so many talented women in this genre," Gilbert tells Taste of Country, "but the thing about Lindsay is she sings extremely well, she writes and she slays. So it was kind of an easy choice there because we knew she'd kill it."

Ell, meanwhile, is a fan of Gilbert's and was on board with the idea quickly. "He has this rock side to him that is the basis of my heart and what endeared me to music to begin with," she adds. "It kind of makes perfect sense.”

"What Happens in a Small Town" is the first single from Gilbert's next studio album, which is expected in 2019. He tells ToC that the project is ready to go.